Beneath Your Beautiful
by alayahchanel
Summary: Puck is a heartbreaker at school who has the girls wrapped around his finger to hide how empty he feels inside. Until he meets his match in the tough new girl, Rachel Berry, whose rough exterior is used to protect the secrets of her past. Can these two break down each other's walls and the player will finally be tamed?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello everyone! At first I was going to wait to do this story but I decided that I have so many ideas for it that I have to do it now. Some themes I got from ABC Family's The Fosters but it won't be anything like the show. For this story, Puck isn't as much of a badass as he is normally depicted and Rachel is going to be more of the badass. Things are going to get dramatic and intense so be prepared. Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Enjoy!**

**Plot: Puck is a heartbreaker at school who has the girls wrapped around his finger to hide how empty he feels inside. Until he meets his match in the tough new girl, Rachel Berry, whose rough exterior is used to protect the secrets of her past. Can these two break down each other's walls and the player will finally be tamed?**

Chapter 1

Rachel ran and didn't bother looking back behind her. She didn't need to see what was behind her, she just needed to make sure she got as far away from that house as possible. When she finally got away far enough, she stopped to take a breather. Realizing that she didn't have anywhere to go, Rachel walked until she found the child welfare center. Knowing that it was closed at this time of night, she sat on the ground and used her bag as her pillow before finally closing her eyes and getting some sleep.

When she woke up the next day, Rachel found her social worker, Emma Schuester, standing over her frowning. Rachel sat up and looked up at her. "I'm guessing they called you?"

Emma nodded. "First thing this morning. Come on." She offered her hand and Rachel took it as she stood up. They went inside the center and went to Emma's office. Rachel sat down across from her as she sat down to look at her. "What happened, Rachel? I thought things were finally getting better for you?"

Rachel shrugged, trying not to show any emotion from what happened. "You thought wrong. I just need somewhere else to go. Maybe that all-girls group home that you were threatening to send me to."

Emma shook her head. "I can't do that. Unfortunately they're all filled up. Besides, I don't think a group home would be a proper fit for you."

"And why not? They're filled with girls who do hard crimes, I don't see what the problem is."

"Exactly, the girls did terrible crimes. You, however, have not done anything too bad so I don't see why a group home would be necessary for you."

Rachel rolled her eyes, knowing that Emma had already made up her mind about it. "Okay so where am I going to go?"

Emma thought for a moment. "Give me time to think about that. Why don't you go see Miriam? I'm sure she'd be happy to see you."

She smirked. "You know Miriam hates me. But because you're actually telling me to go bug the shit out of her, I'd be a fool to say no."

Emma shook her head as Rachel got up and left her office. She had no idea where Rachel could go now. There weren't a lot of group homes nearby and the last thing she wanted was to send her someplace outside of Lima and have her feel as if she's been abandoned again. Suddenly, she got an idea and called her husband.

"Hello my love," he answered.

She smiled at the greeting. "Hi, are you free? I need your help with something."

"I've got a few minutes before my class starts. What do you need?"

"Remember that couple you were telling me about? The one who were licensed foster parents?"

"Leroy and Hiram Berry, yes I remember. What about them?"

Emma bit her lip before asking. "Do you think they would be willing to take in a foster child as soon as possible?"

XXXXXXXXXXX

Rachel looked out the window at the house Emma pulled up in front of. She turned to Emma. "So how'd you pull this off so quickly?"

"My husband knows them and told me about them. This should be a good place for you."

Rachel went quiet before muttering, "You thought the same thing about the last place."

Emma sighed as they got out of the car and started walking towards the house. The door opened and two men stepped out, causing Rachel to look at Emma in confusion. Emma ignored the look and kept walking until they reached them. She smiled at them. "Hello, my name is Emma Schuester."

One of the men smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Emma. I'm Hiram and this is my husband, Leroy."

"Husband?" Rachel blurted. When Emma gave her a look, she quickly shut her mouth.

Emma looked back at Hiram and Leroy. "This, of course, is Rachel."

The two men smiled and Leroy shook Rachel's hand. "Nice to meet you Rachel."

Rachel fake smiled. "I guess I should say likewise."

After an awkward silence, Hiram motioned inside. "Let's go inside, shall we?"

They all walked inside and sat in the living room. After a few seconds of silence, Hiram decided to break it. "So Rachel how old are you?"

Emma sent her a look, telling her to be nice so Rachel sighed before answering. "I just turned sixteen two months ago."

Leroy nodded. "Did you do anything special?"

She smirked. "I got taken out of a foster home. Turned out the parents were a part of some drug cartel and police came and busted in on the whole thing. Let's just say they won't be getting out of prison anytime soon."

Hiram and Leroy stared at her in shock while Emma intervened. "How long have you two been foster parents?"

Recovering from the shock, Hiram was the first to speak. "About five years. We know we're not the typical choice for foster parents but we have proven to be very fit for it."

Rachel rolled her eyes. At this point, she didn't believe that anyone was fit to be a foster parent. It was all an act so they wouldn't alarm Emma and get her to change her mind about leaving her there. "Where's the bathroom?"

Leroy pointed up. "Upstairs, first door on your left."

She got up and went upstairs as Hiram and Leroy looked at Emma. Hiram tried to find words. "Well she's…interesting."

Emma sent an apologetic look. "I'm sorry for such a short notice. I know it may not look like it but I can promise you, Rachel is a good kid. She's just had a rough time. She's been bounced around to different foster homes since she was seven so all she knows are bad homes and awful foster parents."

Hiram nodded in understanding. "Well we can assure you that isn't us. We care about every child that walks through our door and Rachel won't be any different."

Leroy nodded at his husband's words. "She's in good hands here."

Emma smiled. "That's good to know. My husband speaks highly of you so I don't doubt that she will be taken care of here." Just then, Rachel came back downstairs as Emma stood up. "Well everything is good here so I guess I will be leaving you now."

Rachel walked with Emma to the door. "I guess I'll see you in about a month or so? Maybe sooner."

Emma gave her a look. "Please at least try to make this work. I know these aren't the type of people you're used to but-"

"Give them a chance anyway. Got it." She gave a small smile before hugging her.

When they pulled away, Emma looked at her. "Call me if you need me."

Rachel nodded as she walked out. After she watched Emma get in her car and drive off, she closed the door and looked at Hiram and Leroy who were standing behind her. "Okay go ahead." They looked at her in confusion. "I know you're about to hit me with all the rules so go ahead."

Leroy looked at Hiram before nodding. "Okay well of course you will be going to school. Your curfew will be ten o' clock on weeknights and eleven-thirty on weekends."

"Eleven-thirty? What am I, fourteen?"

Hiram sighed. "You may be sixteen but we don't know you too well yet. So until you can show us that we can trust you, eleven-thirty on weekends."

Seeing that she wasn't going to win, Rachel gave in. "Fine. Where do I sleep?"

Leroy motioned to the stairs. "Follow us."

They went upstairs and stopped at one of the rooms. Rachel looked inside. "I'm going to assume you haven't adopted any kids of your own?"

Leroy shook his head. "No. The kids that we foster either age out of the system and go out to be on their own or they get adopted by other couples. They were good kids but we haven't quite found that special kid we'd want to keep for ourselves."

Rachel nodded in understanding. "So you're not fostering any other kids right now?"

Hiram shook his head. "Nope, just you."

"Great," she muttered under her breath as Hiram and Leroy left her to get settled. Rachel went into the bathroom that was connected to her room and looked in the mirror at herself. She looked tired, most likely from barely getting any sleep the previous night. After making sure that Hiram and Leroy were downstairs, she lifted her shirt to examine the nasty bruise she had on her side. Memories from the previous night flooded her brain as she quickly put the shirt back down to forget about it. She went back into the bedroom and laid down on her bed, staring at the ceiling. While she wasn't completely sure how safe this place was, Rachel knew she need to sleep. She just hoped she wouldn't wake up in another unfortunate situation.

**What do you think? Are you curious about Rachel's past yet? Let me know your thoughts and where you would like to see the story go. Stay With Me will be updated soon as well. Bye for now :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello everyone! I'm glad you all are excited for the story. I had some spare time between completing my finals so I decided to update. I may get more spare time to update the others but we'll have to see. Anyway, let's get to the story. Enjoy!**

Chapter 2

"Rachel! Come on, you have to get ready for school!" Hiram called from downstairs. Rachel groaned. The last thing she wanted was to go to another new school but it was part of living here and Emma would kill her if she managed to get kicked out so quickly.

After she got dressed in a white fitted t-shirt with a large black skull on it, a black leather vest, dark pants and black ankle boots. When she walked downstairs, Hiram and Leroy stared at her. "What?"

"That's what you're wearing to school?" Hiram asked.

"Yeah why?" When they went silent, Rachel rolled her eyes. "Okay, look. I'm going to school like you want but none of my other foster parents had a problem with how I dress so I'm not changing." The men looked at each other before nodding in agreement. "Great. So is someone going to take me to school or at least show me where it is?"

Leroy nodded. "I'll take you."

After giving Hiram a kiss, Leroy and Rachel walked out and got in the car. As he was driving, she looked at him. "So what's the story with you guys?"

Leroy raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean how did we meet?"

"Duh."

"Well we met in law school. Hiram was so focused on his schoolwork but I managed to get him to loosen up. Before we knew it, we were in love. Now of course, being out and proud wasn't too easy back then but we managed to stick it out and got married as soon as it was legal in New York."

Rachel looked at him confused. "Why New York?"

"That's where we were living at the time."

"Why would you move to this cow town?"

Leroy shrugged. "Hiram wanted to be close to his parents. His father fell sick and he wanted to be here for them. But he ended up being okay."

"And you just willingly gave up your life to move with him?"

"What can I say? When you're in love you do anything for that person. Besides, the move wasn't too bad." Rachel nodded and looked out the window. "Now I have a question for you. What happened to your parents?"

She hesitated before answering. "They're just not around anymore."

Seeing that she was uncomfortable about the topic, Leroy didn't say anything else about it as he pulled up in front of the school. "Well have a good first day. Make some friends."

Rachel rolled her eyes as she got out of the car. When she walked inside of the school, she found everyone in their different cliques talking. Choosing not to pay attention to any of them, Rachel looked at her information and tried to find her locker. When she found it, she started to put some of her stuff inside.

While she stopped to look at her schedule, an Asian girl walked over to the locker next to her and smiled at her. "Hey I guess you're new here."

Rachel looked at her. "How would you guess that?"

"This locker has been empty since school started." She held out her hand. "I'm Tina."

Rachel hesitated before shaking it. "Rachel."

"Nice to meet you." Tina motioned to Rachel's shirt. "I love your shirt by the way."

"Thanks." She looked at some of the preppy girls walk passed. "At least someone here has a sense of style."

Tina laughed as the cheerleaders walked by. The blond sneered at her. "Hey Cohen-loser. I heard you're auditioning for the musical."

"W-well Quinn I-I was thinking-"

"Maybe you should stop that. It's evidently not your strong point." She looked at Rachel. "Haven't seen you around here. Are you new?"

Rachel nodded, clearly uninterested in the conversation. "Yeah it's my first day."

"Well here's some advice: hanging out with people like her," she looked in Tina's direction. "It's not good. Kind of like your outfit."

Not fazed by the insult, Rachel smirked. "Yeah I guess it's not up to the level of your cheerleading uniform. You know I was always told that the clothes you wear say something about you. While mine says I'm a tough bitch, yours just says you're a regular bleach blond bitch. So I guess I win."

Tina's jaw dropped as Quinn glared at Rachel before walking away. Tina turned to Rachel. "Okay I have never heard someone talk to Quinn like that."

"Ugh just her name sounds repulsive. But anyway, it's not a big deal. I've dealt with girls like her before."

"Well you managed to do what I've wanted to do for two years in two minutes so congratulations."

Rachel looked at her. "She's always been on your case?"

Tina nodded. "Yeah, ever since I accidentally bumped into her in the hallway in our freshman year. Ever since then, she's made it her mission to make my life miserable."

Rachel wasn't sure what it was but she actually liked Tina. Unlike all of the other fake girls she's come across in her time at different schools, she seemed the most genuine. "Okay this is breaking my rule but you're kind of cool so I'll make an exception."

"What rule?"

Rachel sighed. "I'm usually never at a school long enough to make friends so I try not to. But I guess now that I'm on bitch girl's list and you clearly need someone to help you learn how to stand up to people, I guess we're cool."

Tina looked at her confused. "Does that mean we're friends?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yes we're friends. But like I said, I typically don't stay at schools long so don't get all attached or anything."

"Okay but why?"

Rachel shrugged. "I'm a foster kid. We typically don't stay in one place for a long time."

"Oh. I'm adopted but it happened when I was a baby."

"Yeah well be very grateful that you didn't have to go through the system." The bell rang and Rachel sighed. "Now do you think you can help me navigate through this shithole?"

Tina smirked. "Yeah I think we're going to be great friends."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As Rachel sat in her class, she noticed a young man with a mohawk walk in and immediately start talking to a group of girls. She shook her head. Girls will go for anything these days.

When he noticed her, the young man walked over to her and smiled a flirtatious smile. "Haven't seen you around. You must be new."

She rolled her eyes. "What was your first hint genius?"

"Oh feisty. I like it."

"Well I don't like you so can you go away? I've already had to deal with one annoying bitch today, I'd rather not have to deal with an annoying douche on top of that."

Shocked that someone actually turned him down, he went to his seat as Tina looked at Rachel. "You just turned down Puck."

"Puck? Like that stupid fairy from Shakespeare?"

"His name is Noah Puckerman but everyone calls him Puck. All the girls here are crazy about him but it's probably best if you stay away from him."

"Why?"

"Quinn has had her eyes on him for the longest time. She goes after any girl who tries to take him."

"I don't get it, if she wants him why doesn't she have him? Don't most queen bees get the guy they want?"

Tina shrugged. "He just hasn't paid much attention to her."

As class started, Rachel looked up from her notebook and noticed Puck staring at her. She smirked to herself. Looks like Quinn won't be getting everything she wants for a while.

At lunch, Rachel met up with Tina and they sat down at a table. Tina smiled at her friends. "Hey guys, this is Rachel. She's new here. Rachel these are my friends from theatre. This is Mercedes, Kurt, Artie, and Blaine."

Artie smiled. "Nice to meet you Rachel. Will you be auditioning for the musical?"

"Uh, actually I don't count on being here long enough to even perform in it so no."

Mercedes looked at her, confused. "Why not?"

Before she could answer, Tina cut in. "It's kind of personal guys. We should just enjoy her while she's here."

Everyone nodded as Rachel gave a nod to Tina to say thank you. The last thing she needed was everyone knowing her business as a foster kid. Normally once people find out, they immediately think she's a troublemaker and make up ridiculous rumors about her. While it was something that she could handle at this point, it was still a pain to have to deal with.

As everyone started eating their lunch, Puck walked over to them and pulled up a chair. "Rachel Berry."

"And how the hell do you know my name?"

He shrugged. "I'm kind of a big deal at this school so when I want to know something, I have someone figure it out for me."

"Wow that's really creepy. Anyway, can I help you?"

"I just wanted to introduce myself." He held out his hand. "Name's Puck."

She stared at it. "Look I'm not interested in knowing who you are so please save your awful pickup lines for someone who will actually fall for them."

Everyone at the table stared at Rachel in shock, including Puck, who was unsure of how to proceed. He tried to laugh it off. "You're joking right?"

"No I'm not actually. The last thing I need to deal with right now is someone like you."

Shocked at what just happened, Puck got up and walked away for the table as Kurt stared at Rachel. "You just turned down Puck."

Tina nodded. "Yeah she did it this morning too."

Blaine smirked. "I guess you're not into players?"

Rachel shook her head. "Definitely not. I've been through enough shit in my life, the last thing I need to deal with is some player who thinks I'm something he can conquer."

"And not only that, she stood up to Quinn too," Tina added. "Called her a bitch and everything."

Everyone stared at each other before Artie finally spoke. "I think we're going to like you."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As she walked up to the house, Rachel noticed Emma's car sitting out front. She sighed. That was quick. She expected it to be at three weeks before she got moved again.

When she walked in, she found Hiram and Emma talking. When they noticed her, Emma smiled at her. "Just the person I wanted to see."

Rachel closed the door behind her and walked over to them. "Well that was fast. What happened? They tell you they're sick of me already?"

Emma shook her head. "No, you know that I always come to check on you when you've had your first day at a new school."

"Oh right. Well everything's fine. Except there's this blonde bitch-" Remembering that Hiram was there, she paused. "Um girl, that isn't too fond of me."

"Yes well I'm sure you can find some way to get along with her. Did you see my husband?"

"Your husband works there?"

Emma nodded. "Yes he's a history teacher and in charge of the theatre program."

Rachel cursed to herself. Of course she would meet people from that department. "Great. Someone to keep an eye on me."

Choosing to ignore the comment, Emma started to walk to the door. "Well I just wanted to check on you. I'll see you soon."

Rachel followed her. "Wait Emma." Emma turned to her. "Have the Hollingsworths contacted you to try to find me?"

"No they haven't. Why?"

"Just curious. Not a big deal."

Skeptical, Emma just nodded before walking out. Rachel sighed. The last thing she wanted was for her last foster parents to find her. She would be content if she never saw them again. Choosing to forget about it, Rachel walked to the living room to talk to Hiram, who was putting fruit in a bowl.

"Where's Leroy?" she asked.

"He had a late meeting so he'll be home later."

"I thought you guys worked together?"

"We do but different departments. Anyway how was school?" he asked, putting the bowl in front of her. "Make any friends? You know, besides the blond girl?"

Rachel smirked. "Oh trust me, friend is not the word for her. But yeah I did, unfortunately."

"Why unfortunately?"

"I'm typically never in a place long enough to keep the same friends so I don't find a point in trying to make any."

Hiram frowned as Rachel ate the fruit. It was clear that this girl has been through a lot. He heard her tossing and turning the previous night and now she was saying that she didn't want to make friends. His heart broke for her when he thought of all the potential things that could've happened to her in her life. He and Leroy wanted to help but she would need to let them in first before they could. Until then, all they could do is watch the new addition to their home fall apart inside.

**Looks like Rachel's making quite an impression at her new school as well as at home. Let me know any guesses you have of Rachel's past or thoughts on the chapter. Like I said, I'll have to see how much time I have to update the other stories so keep a look out. Bye for now :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! I am now on winter break so I will be updating much quicker. Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

Rachel walked in the school the next morning and found Tina at her locker, staring at one of the boys from the football team. "Tina? You okay?"

"What?" she asked, snapping out of her daze. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. I was just uh-"

"Staring at one of the guys on the football team? Yeah I noticed. So who is he?"

"His name is Mike and I think he's super cute. But there's no way he would ever be interested in me. I mean, I _am _a theatre geek."

Rachel sighed. "Come on Tina, you know that's not true. I've only known you for a day and I already know that there's more to you than that. You just need to believe it for yourself."

She shrugged. "Yeah well even if I didn't believe it, Quinn already has everyone else believing it. I wouldn't be surprised if he thought so too."

"Okay stop. If that guy believes anything that comes out of her mouth then he's an idiot and doesn't deserve you anyway. You have got to get more confidence in yourself if you want to shut Quinn up."

Tina hesitantly nodded. "Yeah I guess. I just wish I knew how to do it."

Rachel smirked. "What do you think I'm here for?"

Tina smiled at her before they started to talk about something else. When Puck walked into the school, he smiled at the usual girls that he typically noticed. Every girl there always wanted a piece of him but unfortunately for them, Puck wasn't one to settle down too easily. It wasn't that he wasn't attracted to any of them. He just wanted to have fun with nothing serious.

While he was at his locker, his friends Sam, Finn, and Mike came over to him. "What's up guys?"

Sam smirked and pointed behind him. "Your biggest fan is here."

Puck turned around and noticed Rachel talking to Tina. "She's definitely not a fan. I don't know what her deal is. No girl has ever turned me down. Girls beg for me fuck them on a daily basis."

Mike shrugged. "Looks like she's just into you. Must be a real blow to your ego but I'm sure you'll get over it."

Puck frowned. He didn't like that someone wasn't interested in him. It made him feel like he was losing in a game he had been dominating since he got to the school. He looked back at his friends and smirked. "Trust me I know she wants me. She'll be begging for me soon enough."

"Want to test that theory?" Sam asked. "I bet that you can't get Rachel to give it up to you by the winter formal."

Puck raised an eyebrow. "How much are we betting here?"

Sam thought about it before giving a devious smirk. "Your position on the football team."

"Wait what?"

"We switch positions. I become quarterback and you take my position as running back. If you can't get a girl to sleep with you, clearly you've lost your edge and don't deserve to be quarterback for the team anymore." He held out his hand. "Deal?"

Finn looked at Puck. "Dude I don't think this is a good idea. I mean, you'd be playing with a girl's feelings."

"Who says she'll have feelings for me? She probably will just want a good fuck and I'll be available for that so it's perfect."

Mike shook his head. "I'm with Finn. This is kind of messed up."

Sam shrugged. "I mean, if Puck doesn't think he can do it-"

"I can do it." He shook Sam's hand. "You've got a deal Evans."

Finn looked at Puck. "This is a bad idea Puck."

He shrugged. "Please, nothing should come out of this but a good fuck. You'll see."

Finn and Mike shook their heads as the bell rang and they started to walk to class. When Puck got to his class, he immediately walked over and sat next to Rachel.

She stared at him. "Are you lost or something? Or did I not embarrass you enough yesterday?"

"Look I just wanted to say I'm sorry for how I approached you yesterday. I handled that all wrong."

"I'm glad you realize that."

"Actually I would like to get to know you a little better. What do you say we hang out sometime? Maybe after school?"

"I say no. Even though I'm glad you came to your senses, I'm not interested in anything you have to offer me. I suggest you stop trying."

When she went back to ignoring him, Puck sighed and went back to his seat. This was going to be hard but he had to find some way to get close to Rachel. Otherwise he'd have to admit defeat and that was something that he was not willing to do. He was going to just have to try to find another approach.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

"Why am I here again?" Rachel asked as she and Tina walked into the auditorium after school was over.

"Because I asked you to come. You mean to tell me you wouldn't be interested in doing a musical?"

She nodded. "That's exactly what I'm telling you. I told you, I might not even be here to actually be in it."

Tina shrugged. "No harm in just checking it out. Plus Quinn is coming and you promised you'd help me with her."

Rachel groaned before nodding. "Okay fine I'll stay. Don't expect anything more than that."

Tina nodded as Quinn walked in. She looked at them. "I thought this interest meeting was for people who actually have talent or even an interest in this stuff?"

Rachel gave a fake smile. "Bite me bitch."

Before Quinn could respond, Mr. Schuester walked in with Artie rolling in right beside him. "Alright everyone if I could have your attention." Everyone sat down and got quiet for him. "So I know you are all prepared to hear about what musical we are doing but I decided that there will be no musical this year. Instead, I decided that we should do a musical showcase. Everyone comes and performs and there will be a winner announced at the end of the night."

Tina raised her hand. "Will we have to audition for the showcase?"

He nodded. "Yes. Auditions will be tomorrow after school in here. Artie will assist me in preparing for this event and you will audition for both of us. If you are selected, we will be working with you up until the showcase."

Quinn raised her hand. "What does this winner get?"

"The winner will receive a trophy and a gift certificate to Breadstix. The judges will be a mixture of members of the staff as well as a special guest who will be announced later on. So the signup for auditions is right here. If there are no more questions, I will see you all tomorrow."

As he walked away, everyone got up to sign the sheet. When Tina signed the sheet, Quinn laughed. "I don't know why you bother. You know you're not even good enough to be a background singer."

Tina frowned. "I have a stronger voice than you Quinn. I have just as much of a chance as you do."

"Please you and your little friend can't touch me."

Rachel groaned. "Okay I'm a little sick of this game." She went to the paper and signed her name before looking at Quinn. "When both me and Tina make into this showcase, I'm going to need you to do one of your little airhead cheers for us. Make sure it sounds nice."

Quinn rolled her eyes and left the auditorium as Tina looked at Rachel. "You're really going to audition for the showcase?"

She nodded. "Anything to knock her off her high horse. Come on let's get out of here."

As they left the building, Rachel's mind drifted back to Puck. He sounded a little nicer and more sincere this time when he talked to her but she still wasn't sure if she should trust him. After all, he was the golden boy of the school and in her opinion, golden boys are always trouble.

**Sorry if it's short but I didn't want to put too much in this chapter. So what do you think? Does Puck have a chance at winning the bet with Sam? Do you think Rachel will find out about it? Let me know. Bye for now :)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello everyone! I am so sorry for the long wait. I was experiencing some writer's block every time I sat down to write the chapter but thankfully I figured it out. I decided that since a big part of this story is Rachel's growing relationship with Hiram and Leroy that I should have this chapter be centered on them. There will be some flashbacks to Rachel's past to give some insight to what she's been through in her life. Enjoy!**

Chapter 4

After she and Tina went their separate ways, Rachel decided that before she went back to the house she would stop by the store to buy one of her favorite snacks. When she walked in, she noticed her old foster brother from the Hollingsworth house in another aisle. Not wanting him to see her, Rachel quickly went to grab what she wanted so she could checkout. But before she could get to the line, he stopped her.

"Hey Rachel," he smiled, seeing that she was trying to avoid him. "How are things going?"

"Fine Travis. Now if you'll excuse me."

As she tried to walk away, he followed. "You know, Mom and Dad are still pissed about what happened."

Rachel rolled her eyes, trying to pretend that his words didn't affect her. "Well that makes three of us."

"I bet they'll be really glad to hear you're still around. Even though you messed up that night, I think they're still willing to adopt you. Make you a permanent part of the family," he smirked.

Rachel felt her heart stop in fear of that ever happening. The last thing she wanted was to be adopted by the Hollingsworths after what happened. She would rather be put in a group home than live with those people for the next few years. Choosing not to respond, Rachel quickly went to an empty line and paid for her snacks before leaving the store. As she left, she started thinking about when she first arrived at the Hollingsworths. How different their family was from the families she's been with in the past.

_Flashback_

_When Rachel and Emma walked into the home, Rachel looked around and was surprised to see that this home was actually well put together. It wasn't as raggedy as her last home but that was probably because these people weren't running a drug cartel. While they stood at the door, a woman came over to them._

"_Hi I'm Jennifer Hollingsworth," she smiled, shaking Emma's hand before looking at Rachel. "And you must be Rachel. It's so nice to meet you."_

_Knowing the procedure when meeting a new family, she put on a fake smile. "Likewise."_

_Before anything else was said, two teenagers came down the stairs and Jennifer looked at them. "Oh Rachel these are my children, Travis and Allison. Kids this is Rachel, the foster child we told you about."_

_Rachel observed the two children. Allison was a younger version of Jennifer with the same blue eyes and blond hair while Travis looked like he should be an Abercrombie and Fitch model. She could tell they obviously didn't think she belonged there but it's not like this was her choice._

_While everyone stood there looking at each other, an older man walked in from the kitchen. "Oh our new guest is here." He went to shake Emma's hand. "Robert Hollingsworth. The man of the house I guess you could say."_

_Emma smiled at this. "I'm Emma Schuester and this is Rachel."_

"_Pleasure to meet you Rachel," he shook Rachel's hand and smiled at her. Rachel observed the man in front of her. He seemed like a pretty decent guy. He dressed as if he had just returned home from work which she could bet was probably a very nice job because of the house they live in. And the way Robert smiled made it seem as if he was genuinely happy to have her there. Something she definitely wasn't used to._

_So she smiled back. "Nice to meet you too."_

_End of flashback_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Hiram and Leroy sat in the living room together, enjoying television while waiting for Rachel to come home. While they were sitting there, Hiram thought about the conversation he had with Rachel yesterday. He couldn't help but be concerned about her and her wellbeing.

"Do you ever wonder about Rachel's past?" he asked Leroy.

Leroy looked at him and shrugged. "Yes I'd say I'm pretty curious. Why do you ask?"

"I had a conversation with her yesterday. She told me that she didn't find a point in making friends because she's never in a place long enough to keep them. This girl has clearly been through a lot and I'm not sure if we're equipped to handle it."

"I think you're forgetting that we've fostered a lot of other children before Rachel. Of course we can handle it."

Hiram shook his head. "Leroy she has scars that go deeper than those other kids' did. I've walked by her door at night and she tosses and turns. I'm surprised she hasn't woken up screaming."

Realizing that his husband was right, Leroy sighed. "I understand what you're saying. But we can't do anything about it until she comes to us and tells us about it."

"You know she won't tell us anything. She doesn't trust us enough." He thought to himself for a moment before looking at Leroy. "Which is why we have to make her trust us."

"And how do you suppose we do that?"

"I'm home!" Rachel called as she came through the front door.

"Follow my lead," Hiram told Leroy as Rachel walked in the room. "Hey how was school?"

She shrugged. "Fine I guess. I got on the bleach blonde's bad side even more by deciding to audition for some showcase."

"A showcase?" Leroy raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah apparently Emma's husband wants us to perform and the winner gets a trophy and a gift certificate to Breadstix. I figured this would be a way to not only piss off the ice queen but also get a free meal at a nice restaurant so what the hell?"

Hiram looked at Leroy, who shrugged, before looking back at Rachel. "Well when's the audition?"

"Tomorrow after school."

"Would you want some help? Leroy and I would be happy to go over song choices with you to see what would be a good idea to perform."

Rachel thought about this. Clearly they were trying to get her to warm up to them but she couldn't say she didn't appreciate the effort. That meant that they don't intend on giving her back yet, at least not for a few weeks or so. "Yeah sure. I guess I could use some help."

"Great," Hiram nodded. "Wait here, I'll be back."

Rachel nodded but unknown to him, she began to frown as another memory flashed through her mind.

_Flashback_

"_Okay Rachel just wait here. I'll be back soon," her mother told her as she prepared to walk out of the door._

_Rachel grabbed her hand to stop her. "Mommy please don't leave me."_

_Smiling at her daughter, Shelby bent down to her level and ran a hand down her hair. "You know how Mommy's been stressed lately?" Rachel nodded. "Well I have to go get something that will help with that stress. Can you be a brave girl while I go?"_

_Rachel nodded once more as Shelby kissed her forehead. "You'll be back soon right?"_

"_Absolutely. Remember if you need anything, just ask Mrs. Carson next door. But other than that, don't answer the door for anyone. Okay?"_

"_Okay." Shelby kissed her forehead once more before standing up and walking out the front door, leaving Rachel standing there staring at the door._

_End of Flashback_

"Rachel?" she heard Leroy calling her name and quickly snapped out of the memory. Leroy stared at her. "Are you okay?"

Quickly nodding, Rachel composed herself. "Yeah I'm fine. Just thinking of what song I could do for my audition."

Even though he didn't fully believe her, Leroy simply nodded as Hiram came back. "Okay so I don't know what type of music you are interested in but I figured this would be a good start."

She looked at the sheet music and raised an eyebrow. "All of these are from some type of Broadway musical."

"Is that bad?"

"Look I get that you guys are probably crazy about this stuff but I'm not. It's not my thing."

Leroy nodded in understanding. "Well you need something that will show your range." He got up and went over to the piano. "You know the music scale right?"

"Yeah of course."

"Sing it," he told her as he positioned himself at the piano. She shrugged and as he started playing the notes, she sang the scale. As he went higher and higher, changing the octave, he and Hiram stared at her. They were not expecting Rachel to have so much of a voice.

When she finished, Hiram smiled. "I think I know just the person she should be singing."

Before anyone could say anything else, he ran upstairs and returned a few minutes later with new sheet music. Rachel looked at it. "You think I can sing this?"

"I know a good voice when I hear it and you've got it. I think this is perfect for you to sing."

Leroy nodded. "I agree. You'll nail that audition. But before we get into practicing the song, how about some dinner?"

Hiram and Rachel nodded as they went in the kitchen to figure out what they were going to eat.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

As Rachel got ready for bed, she looked in one of the compartments of her suitcase and pulled out the small picture she had of her and her mom. No one knew that she had it and she preferred to keep it that way. As she put it back in its place, she started thinking about her interaction with Travis. She didn't understand why but seeing him and hearing him tell her that his parents still wanted her made her nervous. If they found her, would they try to find her to take her back?

Hearing a knock at the door interrupted her thoughts as she got in her bed. "Come in." Hiram and Leroy came in. "You two do know I'm way past the age of being tucked in right?"

Leroy chuckled. "Something tells us you're not exactly the type to be tucked in, in the first place."

Rachel nodded. "Good instinct. What's up?"

"We just wanted to say it was nice working with you on your audition song," Hiram told her. "We hope we helped you."

"Surprisingly you did. Hopefully this will help me take down the bitch. I mean, not very nice girl."

He laughed. "Rachel I think we all know who you're referring to."

She laughed. "Yeah I guess I've made that clear. But thanks for helping me. No other foster parents that I've had knew I could sing. It's not something I typically reveal about myself."

"Why?"

She shrugged. "It's not like they would care. Mostly, all I'm there for is to get them a check. They would prefer to act like I wasn't even there. If they knew I could sing, they would probably try to enter me in contests to get more money. I'd basically be a prop."

Hiram and Leroy gave each other a look. They knew not all foster parents were like them. Some just take kids in to get money from the system and could care less about being actual parents. It broke their hearts to know that Rachel had to hide a gift from people because she knew they would probably use her.

"Well that's not the case with us," Leroy told her. "You're safe here."

Rachel nodded and they started to walk out. "Good night."

"Good night Rachel," they smiled at her before turning off her light and closing the door. Rachel sighed to herself. Hiram and Leroy seemed like they were great people and even though they were incredibly helpful tonight, she didn't know if she could fully trust them. She let her guard down once and it ended up being a horrible mistake. She just didn't want to make the same mistake again.

**Any ideas as to what happened in Rachel's past? Let me know. Next chapter will be her audition as well as more Puckleberry interaction. Bye for now :)**


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